McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $80.34, but opened at $76.20. McCormick & Company, Incorporated shares last traded at $79.35, with a volume of 1,469,996 shares traded.

The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKC. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.75.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,419,653,000 after buying an additional 303,973 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,114,000 after acquiring an additional 137,679 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,693,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,573,000 after acquiring an additional 531,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,530,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,060,000 after purchasing an additional 326,041 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $21.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.93 and a 200-day moving average of $78.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.